Cadwaladr
Encyclopedia
Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon was King of Gwynedd
(reigned c. 655 – 682). Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682, with himself a victim of the second one. Little else is known of his reign. Cadwaladr is most widely recognised as a prominent character in the romantic
stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth
, where he is portrayed as the last in a line of legendary kings of Britain.
Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon) has long been known as a Welsh symbol, appearing in the Mabinogion
, the Historia Brittonum, and the stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth. It has commonly been referred to as 'The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr', and since the accession of Henry VII
to the English
throne, it has often been referred to as 'The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon'. The association with Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon is a traditional one, without a firm historical provenance.
Cadwaladr's name appears without the identifying patronymic 'ap Cadwallon' in a number of historical and literary works, such as in the Armes Prydein
. Without additional corroborating information it cannot be assumed that Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon is the person referred to, rather than a different person with the same name.
Cadwaladr's name appears in passing in serious historical works, such as those by Davies
and Lloyd
, and then only to mention that he was the son of a famous father, Cadwallon ap Cadfan
, and the successor to King Cadafael
. His name appears in the pedigrees of the Jesus College MS. 20
(as "Kadwaladyr vendigeit", or "Cadwaladr the Blessed"). Cadwaladr's name appears as 'Catgualart' in a section of the Historia Brittonum, where it says he died of a dreadful mortality while he was king.
The great plague of 664 is not noted in the Annales Cambriae
, but Bede
's description makes clear its impact in both Britain and Ireland, where its occurrence is also noted in the Irish Annals.
The plague of 682 is not noted by Bede, but the Annales Cambriae note its occurrence in Britain and that Cadwaladr was one of its victims. Both the Annales Cambriae and the Irish Annals note the plague's impact in Ireland in 683, as do other sources.
The genealogies in Jesus College MS. 20
and the Harleian genealogies
give Cadwaladr as the son of Cadwallon and the father of Idwal Iwrch. Idwal, who fathered the later king Rhodri Molwynog
, may have been his successor.
's romantic
account of the Historia Regum Britanniae
(History of the Kings of Britain). As such, the Cadwaladr of Geoffrey is a literary invention that used the name of a historical person in order to advance the plot of the story. In Book XII, Chapter XIV of the Historia, Cadwaladr is given as the last in a line of kings that began with Brutus of Troy
. Chapters XV – XVIII have him leaving a depopulated Britain for Brittany
, then traveling to Rome
, where he dies after meeting the pope.
Also traced to Geoffrey's fertile imagination are stories of Ivor ap Alan and Ynyr traveling from Brittany to Britain. The choice of names for Ivor and Ynyr in the stories may be a consequence of spurious additions to the Laws of Edward the Confessor
, which inaccurately speak of good relations between Wessex and the Welsh in the reign of King Ine of Wessex
(reigned 688 – 726). From there emerges a conflation of Cadwaladr or Cadwallon
with Cædwalla of Wessex (reigned 685 – 688), and a conflation of Cadwaladr's son Ivor with Cædwalla's son Ine.
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
(reigned c. 655 – 682). Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682, with himself a victim of the second one. Little else is known of his reign. Cadwaladr is most widely recognised as a prominent character in the romantic
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
, where he is portrayed as the last in a line of legendary kings of Britain.
Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon) has long been known as a Welsh symbol, appearing in the Mabinogion
Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
, the Historia Brittonum, and the stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth. It has commonly been referred to as 'The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr', and since the accession of Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
to the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
throne, it has often been referred to as 'The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon'. The association with Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon is a traditional one, without a firm historical provenance.
Cadwaladr's name appears without the identifying patronymic 'ap Cadwallon' in a number of historical and literary works, such as in the Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein is an early 10th-century Welsh prophetic poem from the Book of Taliesin.In a rousing style characteristic of Welsh heroic poetry, it describes a future where all of Brythonic peoples are allied with the Scots, the Irish, and the Vikings of Dublin under Welsh leadership, and together...
. Without additional corroborating information it cannot be assumed that Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon is the person referred to, rather than a different person with the same name.
Historical record
John Davies (historian)
John Davies is a Welsh historian, and a television and radio broadcaster.Davies was born in the Rhondda, Wales, and studied at both University College, Cardiff, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is married with four children...
and Lloyd
John Edward Lloyd
Sir John Edward Lloyd , was a Welsh historian, the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest, 2 vols...
, and then only to mention that he was the son of a famous father, Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle. The son and successor of Cadfan ap Iago, he is best remembered as the King of the Britons who invaded and conquered Northumbria, defeating and killing its king, Edwin, prior to his own death in battle against...
, and the successor to King Cadafael
Cadafael Cadomedd ap Cynfeddw
Cadafael ap Cynfeddw was King of Gwynedd . He came to the throne when his predecessor, King Cadwallon ap Cadfan, was killed in battle, and his primary notability is in having gained the disrespectful sobriquet Cadafael Cadomedd .Unusual for the era, King Cadafael was not a member of one the...
. His name appears in the pedigrees of the Jesus College MS. 20
Genealogies from Jesus College MS 20
The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r...
(as "Kadwaladyr vendigeit", or "Cadwaladr the Blessed"). Cadwaladr's name appears as 'Catgualart' in a section of the Historia Brittonum, where it says he died of a dreadful mortality while he was king.
The great plague of 664 is not noted in the Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is the name given to a complex of Cambro-Latin chronicles deriving ultimately from a text compiled from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales, not later than the 10th century...
, but Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's description makes clear its impact in both Britain and Ireland, where its occurrence is also noted in the Irish Annals.
The plague of 682 is not noted by Bede, but the Annales Cambriae note its occurrence in Britain and that Cadwaladr was one of its victims. Both the Annales Cambriae and the Irish Annals note the plague's impact in Ireland in 683, as do other sources.
The genealogies in Jesus College MS. 20
Genealogies from Jesus College MS 20
The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r...
and the Harleian genealogies
Harleian genealogies
The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harleian MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Collection, the manuscript, which also contains the Annales Cambriae and a version of the Historia Brittonum, has been dated to c. 1100, although a date of c.1200...
give Cadwaladr as the son of Cadwallon and the father of Idwal Iwrch. Idwal, who fathered the later king Rhodri Molwynog
Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal
Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal was King of Gwynedd . This era in the history of Gwynedd was not notable, and given the lack of reliable information available, serious histories of Wales, such that as by Davies, do not mention Rhodri, while that of Lloyd mentions his name in passing only to quote the...
, may have been his successor.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
The name of the historical Cadwalladr ap Cadwallon figures prominently in Geoffrey of MonmouthGeoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's romantic
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
account of the Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
(History of the Kings of Britain). As such, the Cadwaladr of Geoffrey is a literary invention that used the name of a historical person in order to advance the plot of the story. In Book XII, Chapter XIV of the Historia, Cadwaladr is given as the last in a line of kings that began with Brutus of Troy
Brutus of Troy
Brutus or Brute of Troy is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Æneas, known in mediæval British legend as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain...
. Chapters XV – XVIII have him leaving a depopulated Britain for Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, then traveling to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he dies after meeting the pope.
Also traced to Geoffrey's fertile imagination are stories of Ivor ap Alan and Ynyr traveling from Brittany to Britain. The choice of names for Ivor and Ynyr in the stories may be a consequence of spurious additions to the Laws of Edward the Confessor
Leges Edwardi Confessoris
The title Leges Edwardi Confessoris "Laws of Edward the Confessor" refers to an early twelfth-century English collection of 39 laws .-Historical value:The text’s own promises are both false and misleading...
, which inaccurately speak of good relations between Wessex and the Welsh in the reign of King Ine of Wessex
Ine of Wessex
Ine was King of Wessex from 688 to 726. He was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla, who had brought much of southern England under his control and expanded West Saxon territory substantially...
(reigned 688 – 726). From there emerges a conflation of Cadwaladr or Cadwallon
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle. The son and successor of Cadfan ap Iago, he is best remembered as the King of the Britons who invaded and conquered Northumbria, defeating and killing its king, Edwin, prior to his own death in battle against...
with Cædwalla of Wessex (reigned 685 – 688), and a conflation of Cadwaladr's son Ivor with Cædwalla's son Ine.